The top four seeds in the women’s singles draw are in the semifinals of the 2026 United States Open. Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (the first seed and defending US Open champion) will face the third seed and 2024 United States Open finalist Jessica Pegula of the United States, and in a battle of two-time major champions, the second seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, will face the third seed Coco Gauff of the United States.
Sabalenka has beaten Pegula nine of 14 meetings. However, Pegula beat Sabalenka in their only matchup in 2026–6-4, 6-7, 6-0 in the semifinals of the grass court tournament in Berlin. Gauff and Rybakina have beaten each other once each–with both matches coming in Toronto. Gauff won 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 in the second round in 2022, and Rybakina won 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals in 2026.
The last time the top four female players in the world reached the same semifinals of the same grand slam was Wimbledon in 2009 according to Andy Roddick of ESPN. Venus Williams of the United States (seeded third) defeated Dinara Safina of Russia (first seed) 6-1, 6-0, and Serena Williams of the United States (seeded second) defeated Elena Dementieva of Russia (6-7, 7-5, 8-6).
The last time we saw the top four seeds left in the single draw in the semifinals at the United States Women’s Open was 1975. Chris Evert of the United States, the women’s number one seed, defeated Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia, the third seed, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Also, Evonne Cawley of Griffith, Australia, the number four seed, defeated Virginia Wade of Great Britain, the second seed, 7-5, 6-1.
